


Brave Little Lion

by dansleftboob



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 07:51:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5240468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dansleftboob/pseuds/dansleftboob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After showing Sophia her new room and having dinner the three were sat watching winnie the pooh (Dan insisted). At some point Sophia had crawled into Dan’s lap and was now snuggling in as she fell asleep. <br/>“Poor girl.” Phil sympathised as he rested his head on Dan’s shoulder and rested a hand on Sophia’s knee.<br/>“I know,” Dan agreed “She’s had a busy day. She must have been so scared, moving to an entirely new house with practically new people.” <br/>Phil nodded in agreement and leaned down to kiss Sophia’s head “She’s my brave little lion.” <br/>“I love you.” Dan said and Phil pressed his lips to Dan’s sweetly. <br/>“I love you too.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brave Little Lion

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Terminal illness, Major Character Death, Self harm, Suicide, Blood (kinda)

Dan sat next to his husband, wringing his hands together and trying to control his breathing. He felt Phil slip his hand into his as he let out a shaky breath  
“It’ll be fine, Dan.” Phil comforted   
“What if she doesn’t want us to adopt her?” Dan asked nervously   
“She does. Karen told me how excited she was when they told her.” Phil smiled and gave Dan’s hand a squeeze.   
Karen then came with the little girl they’d been spending time with over the last few months and then later chosen to adopt, she was only 4 years old with bright blue eyes and brown hair that she had in little bunches on either side of her head. Karen dragged a very large suitcase beside her  
“Dan!” The little girl squealed excitedly and ran into Dan’s arms   
“Hi, Sophia.” Dan laughed   
“Sophia’s been really excited about this.” Karen said as she watched Sophia start to play patticake with Dan   
Phil gave a breath of laughter, leaving the two to play with each other whilst he chatted with the care-worker “We’ve been excited too.”   
“Well, take good care of her. She’s already been enrolled for a few primary schools but of course she can stay in nursery for another year if she needs to but she’s a very intelligent little girl, I think she’s more than ready for school.”  
“Of course, She’s very smart.” Phil agreed as he took the suitcase from Karen “Is there anything else you need us to sign?”  
“Nope, you’re good to go.” Karen replied as she opened the front door of the adoption center for the new family “We’ll be in touch of course and a social worker’ll visit every few months just to make sure everything's okay.”   
“Bye Karen!” Sophia said as she hugged her   
“Bye Sophia. Have fun and behave yourself.”  
“I will!” Sophia promised as she clasped onto Dan’s hand and with that Dan, Phil and Sophia left.   
Phil stuffed the suitcase into the boot of their car whilst Dan strapped Sophia into her car-seat before Dan got into the drivers seat and Phil into the passenger seat.   
“Home we go!” Dan smiled as he started the car   
After showing Sophia her new room and having dinner the three were sat watching Winnie the pooh (Dan insisted). At some point Sophia had crawled into Dan’s lap and was now snuggling in as she fell asleep.   
“Poor girl.” Phil sympathized as he rested his head on Dan’s shoulder and rested a hand on Sophia’s knee.  
“I know,” Dan agreed “She’s had a busy day. She must have been so scared, moving to an entirely new house with practically new people.”   
Phil nodded in agreement and leaned down to kiss Sophia’s head “She’s my brave little lion.”   
“I love you.” Dan said and Phil pressed his lips to Dan’s sweetly.   
“I love you too.”   
———  
A few months later Dan was getting Sophia ready to go to her first day of primary school.   
“Are you excited?” Dan asked as he brushed her hair up into her infamous bunches.   
“Yes.” She replied   
“I heard your teachers really nice.” Dan said as he patted Sophia’s shoulder to let her know he was finished   
“Is she pretty?” Sophia asked as she turned and climbed into Dan’s lap   
“I don’t know, I haven’t met her yet.” Dan smiles and stands up carrying Sophia with him “Shall we go and see if Papa’s ready?”  
“Yes!” Sophia said as she wriggled out of Dan’s grasp and ran into the kitchen “Papa, are you ready yet?”  
“I am.” Phil smiled   
“Then lets go.” She hurried towards the front door and out to the car   
Dan chuckled and he and Phil followed her out.   
And as children do she changed her mind the minute she was stood in the playground   
“Daddy, I’m scared.” She mumbled and hid behind Dan’s leg  
“You’ve nothing to be afraid of, petal.” Dan comforted and turned to kneel down in front of her “You’re only here for a little while and then I’ll be here to bring you home, okay?”   
“Okay.” She muttered   
“There’s my brave little lion.” Dan smiled and she hugged her fathers and then ran off to play with the other kids   
—–  
A few months later Dan jolted awake to hear crying coming from their bedroom door   
“Daddy…” Sophia cried  
“What’s wrong Soph?” Dan asked and Sophia ran over to the bed and jumped into Dan’s arms   
“My arm hurts!” She screamed “It really hurts.”   
“Shh, It’s okay.” Dan comforted and Phil then stirred and finally woke up.   
“What’s wrong?”  
“Sophia’s arm hurts.” Dan replied, still attempting to soothe the sobs that were still emitting from her   
“Why does your arm hurt? Did you fall out of bed?” Phil asked   
Sophia shook her head no “It just hurts.”   
“Which one?” Phil asked and Sophia turned to face him and held out her left arm   
“This one.”  
Phil took her arm in his hands and pressed a kiss to the inside of her elbow causing her to giggle so he kissed it again this time on the inside of her wrist   
“That tickles, Papa.” She laughed and Phil kissed the back of her hand “Papa, stop!” She giggled  
“Alright, Alright.” Phil smiled “Do you want to sleep in here tonight?”   
She nodded her head yes and snuggled into Dan, who lay back down with her still in his arms.   
Sophia ended up sick the next day and by the end of the week she still wasn’t better so Phil took her to the doctors.   
The nurse started to take her blood and Sophia winced as the needle went in her arm “Papa, it hurts.” She complained   
“I know, pet.” Phil rubbed her shoulder comfortingly “But you’ve got to get this done.”  
After it was done the nurse gave her a sticker. She turned to Phil proudly and said   
“Look, Papa, it’s a lion!”   
“Mhmm. Know why that is?” Phil asked as he picked her up and started to walk out to the car   
“Why?” She asked  
“Because you’re my brave little lion.”   
—–  
A couple years later Sophia had crept through the house really late at night, she had meant to go and play with her toys in the lounge but she stopped outside the kitchen door when she heard Phil’s voice come from inside the kitchen   
“It’s getting worse, Dan.”   
She then heard a sigh and Dan say  
“I know but they can still try chemo.”   
“What if that doesn’t work? What if-” The next thing heard is a sob and a clatter and Sophia bursts in then, Dan and Phil are kneeled together on the floor as Phil cries into Dan’s shoulder   
“Papa…” Sophia whispers, tears form in her eyes and she can’t hold them back.   
Both Dan and Phil’s head snap to look where there daughter stands, clad in her pooh onesie and said bear in hand.   
Phil pulls her into his arms in a second  
“What’s wrong?” She asks   
“Just- It’s just grown up stuff.” Phil replies   
“But I am a grown up. I’m 6.” She demands and Dan laughs from beside them   
“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Phil says as he stands up.   
As he’s tucking her in she asks “D'you think I’m going to die?”   
And Phil has to take a minute to bite-back tears before he answers “I don’t know, sweetheart.”   
“Well, I’m not going to die. I’m brave and strong and I’m going to stay alive forever and ever.” Sophia confirms with a nod of her head and Phil just smiles “And I’m going to grow just as tall as Daddy and then maybe even taller! And I’ll be an artist just like you are Papa!”   
“Right…” Phil says quietly and then   
“My brave little lion.”  
—–  
Sophia was 16 when she had had enough. Enough of the hospital stays, the doctors appointments, all of it. She’d been shut in her bedroom for nearly an hour, pill bottle and blade in hand. She hadn’t done anything yet. She was afraid of dying.   
There was a knock on the door and Dan’s voice rang through “Sophia, are you in there?”   
Sophia hoped Dan didn’t hear how hoarse her voice was from crying as she called back “Yeah…”  
Dan did notice and he walked in, taking one look at her before he fell onto the floor in front of her and pulled her into his arms.   
“I don’t want to die.” Sophia begged “Don’t let me die, please… Dad. Don’t let me die.”   
“Shhh, it’s okay, I’ve got you.” Dan comforts   
“My brave little lion.”   
—-  
“I’ve stopped responding to treatment.” Sophia breathed a heavy sigh into her mug of coffee, aged just 23   
Phil’s face drains and Dan’s eyes well up. The three of them stand and they wedge Sophia between them in a group hug   
“I’ll be fine.” Sophia says and the corners of Phil’s mouth twitch up in a small smile but it doesn’t quiet reach his eyes   
“Of course you will.” Phil agrees despite the tears falling from his eyes   
“My brave little lion.”  
——–  
Dan and Phil are stood next to Sophia’s bed and they’ve said their final goodbyes and even though she doesn’t have the energy to respond she squeezes their hands.   
“We love you,” Dan starts and Phil finishes for him

“Our brave little lion.”


End file.
